Efficient management of agricultural resources for increased productivity and minimum environmental impact forms the basis of precision agriculture. In a generic precision agriculture layout, intra- and inter-field variabilities are characterized using a network of sensor nodes spread over a large area. Each sensor node sends local information about the properties of the soil surrounding it. All the information collected is sent to a central node which processes the information and takes necessary measures like irrigation and fertilization. Thus, each node in this sensor network not only measures the soil content accurately in real time, it also communicates efficiently with other nodes in the network in order to transmit the collected information. Although various sensors have been proposed, what is needed is an improved sensor that addresses numerous problems associated with in situ sensing.